Education

Public education is a crucial part of the foundation of a functional society. Schools are the bedrock of communities, and a quality education is the right of every student within every community. Public schools should be fully funded and must be a place of safety and comfort for students, teachers, and staff. Charterization and privatization must be opposed at all levels, and every school should have fully staffed wrap-around services, with nurses, social workers, librarians, and clinicians in every school every day. These wrap-around services should be funded from SRO funding, as police officers should not have a place in our public schools. We can ensure the safety of our children with the preexisting civilian, unarmed, security staff who do not create a culture of incarceration. Students must be able to fully access their education, which requires a culturally responsive curriculum, daily support for English Language Learners and fully funded Special Education programs led by persons with disabilities. Chicago Public Schools must also be fully transparent, including transparent budgeting, intentional inclusion of student and community voices, removing restrictive federal background check requirements for participation in LSC members, and an elected representative school board. We understand that organized teachers and staff understand their working environment is students’ learning environments, and support organized labor in the schools in their struggle to make positive learning and working environments in all levels of classrooms.